Baptisms!

It has been awhile and I'm sorry!! We are SO looking forward to hearing from Andrew on Christmas day.

He is doing great. He has already had two baptisms, and they were done in a RIVER! Here is their story in Andrew's words :


About three years ago, the oldest kid got kicked out of the house for joining the mormon church and the parents were really against it. As a branch about 2 weeks ago we went to the temple open house, and she came. We started teaching her after that, and placed a fecha to be baptized. Later on we realized Olgas sister thomasa was listening in and we decided to invite her to listen. The district leader and my comp placed a baptismal date with her and we taught them and they were baptized saturday! Before baptism, each convert has to have an interview with the district or zone leader. When the zone leaders showed up to interview them, all was well and the dad gave permission for them to be baptized, since they are under 18 and they need it. He asked us if we would baptize his other two kids!

What a cute family! They have set a goal to complete 5 baptisms this month, including the two they have done already, and it sounds like he has 4 more scheduled within the next couple of weeks!! There hasn't been a baptism in his area in months. Sounds like Andrew was definitely meant to go there and is fulfilling his duty!

They have a branch down there and he said on Sunday there were 77 members there, which is a ton!

He is still on his cleaning trip, sanitizing and scouring every alst bit of their bathroom it sounds like. He is even asking for fitted sheets! That's Andrew all right!

He is doing SO good, we only get bits and pieces of info from him, because he is SO busy that he hardly has time to write. He briefly mentioned that he has received 4 packages, so thank you to all who have sent them.

-Teresa

Before I end this novel, I just wanna share the words to my favorite hymn. Its number 88 in the Himnos (spanish hymns).

Placentero nos es trabajar-Pleasant is our work
en la vina del gran rey jesus-In the Vineyard of our grand King, Christ
y honroso nos es predicar- We preach with honor

Oh hermanos adios pues adios- Oh brothers goodbye, goodbye
el momento de ir vino ya- The moment to go has arrived
si guardar nuestro fe en el gran dios- If we guard our faith in the grand King
We will see you on the other side!
I love you! I pray for you!
Remember, were all in this together, and until next time....
Keep your stick on the ice! -The Red Green Show
Love Elder Smith

He is officially in the Mission Field!

Well Andrew is officially in the mission field. No more training center for him, all though I think he'd prefer to stay there. I am so proud of Andrew, he just seems to be doing so well, picking up on everything really easily and it has to be because he is doing what he is supposed to and following the spirit.

His new companion is actually from Utah also (small world? or small mormon community?) He is from Riverton, and is and entire foot taller than Andrew at 6'7"! Anyway, where he is now is called Chicacao, he says there are lizards, bugs and dogs everywhere. Sounds like Boy HEaven to me. Anyway, hahaha, he says his apartment looks like a crime scene. orange toilets and sink, and really dirty. Mom will be so proud, because of him the sinks and toilet are now white again, and he is planning on working on the floor and shower. He is going to make a GREAT husband some day!

The have a little lady in their ward who does their laundry and cooks them lunch and dinner, HOW NICE!! He says she is super sweet and takes good care of them. His sisters and mother are already very grateful for her.

He says everyone lives in cement houses with dirt floors, but they are all so humble there, and everyone is willing to listen to their message. Here is an excerpt from his last email and then you can see his pictures below!

"We were teaching a family, Luis and Sylvia. They are so so amazing. Here s the thing, there becoming eternal investigators, or dry members (members without baptism) Luis wants to be baptized so bad. He knows its true and has recieved a witness, and wants it. He knows with all his heart. Loved the temple, and wants to be sealed and be with his fam forever! However, his wife is evangelico and shes been baptized, and will not change. She has felt the spirit time and time again, and she knows it. She loved the temple, but she keeps in a way denying it. Its so frustrating. I was almost crying in the lesson. I was so choked up bearing my testimony about when we were sealed. The other thing is Luis wont be baptized without her. He´s waiting, and were frustrated so were gonna be patient and do what we can, and let the lord do his thing."



The 'NAcho Libre' bus he keeps talking about....She has a name, Andrew, Esmeralda!Here is the temple he gets to go to, it is soooo beautiful! It's in a city called Quetzaltanango (try saying that!) oh, and their currency is called a Quetzal!

If I HAD to guess, I'd guess (and hope) the bed on the left is Andrew's!
Here's my cute brother and his companions!! He already looks so much older!!
Andrew being, well, Andrew!

First health ailment and more!

we got some more e-mails from Andrew over the past couple of weeks, you can tell he is more and more focused on his mission and less about what is going on at home.

Apparently, he is suffering from a condition called cellulitis on his face right now, which is basically an infection in the fat under your skin and gets really swollen. He didn't say how big it got, but that it might have had something to do with the unsanitary water down there and possibly washing his face with it. Thank goodness they have Dr.'s down there to take care of our missionaries!

He is starting to get nervous about entering the actual mission field, where he will be full-time and without further formal training, it's all spiritual guidance from here! make sure to keep him in your prayers especially during this time.

He wanted me to share a story, which is a weird story to share, but that's Andrew!

The night before we got here, they hear some chick screaming at the top of her lungs, then 5 gun shots and a car peeling out. The next day on the way to the temple there was blood on the parking lot! Were in the hood! But im in the lords protection and as long as im obeying the rules I will be okay!

He also said that he is starting to get letters from 'Dearelder.com' so thank you everyone, and keep it up!

For those who want to send him a package he suggests getting together with others and sending him on big one, it is really expensive to ship there.

He finally got a new companion, he was in a trio for awhile as his first companion came back to the United State because he was having trouble with the language. He was paired with another Elder who was also in a trio, and Andrew says his current companion also speaks Spanish well so that is a relief to him.

I am so surprised to hear how well he is doing with the language, usually you hear that the biggest struggle for new missionaries is the language, and I am so proud that he has picked it up so easily!

New address

Here is Andrew's current address, with some instructions on what to send where:

Real quick my address here at the MTC is:

Boulevard Vista Hermosa 23-71
Zona 15 Vista Hermosa 1

Guatemala, Ciudad de Guatemala

If you send packages send it in a flat rate box, I guess they have better security, never send cash, money, or memory cards. UPS is super expensive but faster. It takes around 5 days for a letter to get from here to utah, then 1-2 days from slc to roy. if you are sending it via pouch do it this way:

Elder Andrew Smith

Gutemala Retalehelu Mission

po box 30150

salt lake city utah, 84130-0150

no packages

WE have pictures!!!

We finally got some pictures of our long lost brother! Looks like he is having a good time at the MTC. He is in Guatemala now and has been for one week. We got a call from him from the airport the night he left, it was sooooo good to hear from him. He already sounds so humbled and you can just hear the faithfulnesss in his voice!!

He misses all of us, of course, and really wants to be kept updated on current sports stats!

My parents got an email from him right after he got to Guatemala, it has a really funny story in it, here is an excerpt:

i have to tell you this story however, we got of the plane, got through immigration and customs, and we headed out to find a church representative. we couldnt find him anywhere, all of a sudden an airport worker tells us that hermano percy (brother percy) wouldnt be there to get us, so he puts us in this ghetto nacho libre bus and sends us off into Guatemala! we were all so scared but the bus had a picture of Jesus on the back of it and the inside had vive Jesus everywhere, which means Jesus lives. so that was a little comforting, we knew that the mtc was next to the temple so once we saw that we knew we were okay!

He also said that the food at the Guatemala MTC tastes better, and that there are only about 75 missionaries total there!! His new companion is from Texas, and he said the driving there is completely crazy, sounds like there aren't many traffic laws.

This is the only letter we've gotten from him so far, so I am sure we will hear and learn a lot more from him!! Thanks for your support everyone!



He found a missionary his size!!!
This is Elder Dyches




This picture is pretty cool, he is SO sentimental, my brother,

Look at all those baby faces!

Andrew and Elder Warren from Milwaukee, his first companion

Andrew's closet, and if I know Andrew, this took some getting used to.........

Representing on P-day......

We got a bunch of e-mails from Andrew last week, so I will summarize them the best I can. Andrew is doing good! He said he started learning Spanish 20 min after we dropped him off. Every Sunday he has to prepare a talk in Spanish and be prepared to give it during sacrament meeting as his leader chooses someone to speak at random!

His companion is Elder Warren, and I cannot for the life of me find in his emails where he is from, I'm fired, I know. I believe he is either from Wisconsin or Minnesota. Anyway Andrew says it is weird to be with him ALL the time. Andrew sleeps on the top bunk (finally got a bunkbed!) and he is also the Senior Companion. His FAVORITE part of the day is showering, he gets a hot shower (at least while he is still in the U.S. anyway) and eats VERY well 3 times a day, all you can eat. He has already formed a close bond with the other Elders down there as he has said he hasn't really been homesick yet (what?!!?), but that's a good thing I guess!

He is getting VERY nervous to go to Guatemala in just one short week already! So keep him in your prayers. He obviously enjoys getting things like pictures and treats and anything in the mail. I asked him for a list of treats he would like and I will post that here for those who would like to send him goodies. He is also doing 'mock' discussions in Spanish and just sounds like he is doing well. His first few letters sounded like he was getting frustrated here and there but his last round of letters sounds like he has it down!

He has such a strong testimony of his Heavenly Father and it really shows in his letters. This is what he wants to be doing and he is so faithful about it. I am pressing him to send us a few pics to make sure he hasn't changed too much already -man this is going to be a long two years- thanks everyone for your continued support!

He's still okay

So..he has been there four days and we have FINALLY received word that he is doing okay!! As most of you know, he has very little time to correspond, but he is already busy learning Spanish and needs some treats!

Off He Goes!

It's time to finally put this blog to use. I will get better at posting pictures in order (I hope!), but today, we took Andrew as a family to the MTC. It was really an awesome experience and there were a lot of tears!
First things first, here is his address at the MTC, PLEASE WRITE HIM!:

Elder Andrew Todd Smith
MTC Mailbox # 89
GUA-RET 1122
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

**I will tag all of the posts on this blog with 'address' if they contain a new address so you can search at any time to find out where to write him


Andrew and my Dad hugging goodbye, this was so sweet

Andrew hugging mom goodbye, I think it just hit him how much he is going to miss her!

Our parents are so proud, and they should be!
Uncle 'Wandrew', we will miss you!

This was a sweet shot I stole of my mom and him....
I am so proud of Andrew's decision to spend two years of his life serving the Lord. He is so focused and ready for this, it's unreal. There were literally hundreds of missionaries at the MTC to greet him and it is so amazing to see that many great, outstanding young men who are willing to serve the Lord. I was overwhelmed by the spirit and the love as we dropped him off. It was a hard day but I have a feeling it will be harder waiting to hear from him for the first time!

WE love to see the temple!

August 19th 2011: A MIRACLE happened, the entire Smith family was in the temple together. If you know our history, this is a major accomplishment. Thanks Andrew for getting us all there, we love you and HAppy Birthday!!

I Hope They Call Me On A Mission

Andrew Todd Smith has been called to serve in the Guatemala Retalhuleu Spanish speaking mission. He will leave for the MTC on September 21st!